Posted on November 17, 2010 by Sirid Kellermann, Ph.D.
Our colleagues at Pharmasan Labs, Inc. recently were the recipients of a grant under the highly competitive Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QDTP) Program. The grant was awarded for the company’s novel ITT®/cytokine immune testing platform, developed in close collaboration with our NeuroScience R&D group (you can learn more about the grant in our press release). This novel test platform, combining the immune tolerance test (ITT) with an assessment of antigen-stimulated cytokines, has the potential to advance the diagnosis of a spectrum of immunological challenges, allowing practitioners to provide more targeted therapeutic interventions. Take, for example, Lyme disease, which is caused by infection by various genospecies of Borrelia, a tick-borne bacteria. Historically, the diagnosis of Lyme disease has relied chiefly on testing for antibodies to Borrelia. However, these serological Lyme tests are bedeviled by low sensitivity (false negatives), an issue we recently reviewed in a white paper, Novel Laboratory Assessments for the Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi. This can lead to a misdiagnosis, and the potential for a chronic Borrelia infection that can increase the risk of system-wide organ damage. To address the need for better Lyme diagnosis, we developed MY Lyme Immune I.D.TM. Here’s how the test works. An individual sends a blood specimen to the laboratory, where white blood (immune) cells are isolated. In the ITT portion of the test, the cells are cultured for five days with individual B. burgdorferi-specific antigens, such as VlsE-1 and other proteins. If T cells that respond to a particular antigen are present in the culture, they become activated and proliferate. This indicates that the person has been exposed to B. burgdorferi. It’s important to note that the ITT by itself cannot distinguish between an immune response that is currently in progress, and one that happened in the past. That’s because it cannot tell the difference between so-called “effector” T cells that are currently fighting an active infection, and “memory” T cells that responded years ago to a prior infection and continue to circulate in the bloodstream. Knowing whether the infection is active is key to determining what type of treatment regimen, if any, is warranted. That’s where this novel platform stands apart from other currently available cell-based assays: the cytokine assessment helps detect an active immune response. The lab sets up a second culture of white blood cells in the same way as for the ITT , but the incubation is only 24 hours. In this short time frame, increased cytokine production compared to control cultures would only occur if the donor’s blood contains effector T cells that are actively engaged in an immune response against Borrelia. In this manner, the cell count (ITT) tells us whether that individual has been exposed to a given antigen, and the cytokine profile serves as a biomarker of an ongoing immune response. (In a future post, we’ll expand our discussion of the utility of biomarkers in assessing perturbations in the NEI Supersystem©.) Of course, the beauty of the ITT/cytokine platform is that it can be set up to test virtually any antigen, including those derived from infectious organisms, foods, and environmental antigens like molds, greatly facilitating root cause analysis in chronically ill patients. http://neuroendoimmune.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/ittcytokine-testing-diagnosing-lyme-disease-and-beyond/ Are allergies making you miserable? End allergies and asthma the easy way! Allergy Easy’s oral drops work faster than allergy shots and they are safer. While over-the-counter or medication prescribed by your doctor may put a temporary stop to allergy symptoms, they are a short-term fix. The real solution is to treat the root of the problem through a process known as desensitization. While over-the-counter or medication prescribed by your doctor may put a temporary stop to allergy symptoms, they are a short-term fix. The real solution is to treat the root of the problem through a process known as desensitization.
Desensitization teaches your body not to overreact to dusts, molds, pets, and other allergens in the air. Allergies result when your body perceives these otherwise harmless things as threats and rallies it’s defenses against them. Once you decided you’re ready for the Allergy Solution, getting started is as easy as pie.
Just call our office if you have more questions or would like to schedule an appointment to come in to be tested or see myallergyeasy.com or betterhealthusa.com. The allergy test is offered by Immunolabs and Allergy Solutions. We have reports from several patients that they have never had such good relief from allergies from any other medication or injection!! Do you wonder why you seem to need that Prilosec? Or whether you must live with "Irritable Bowel Syndrome"? These are "Functional Syndromes" that can be caused by various imbalances in the gastrointestinal tract. Digestive function is so important that problems there can cause chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia pain, restless legs, even mood problems, peripheral neuropathy, allergies, arthritis and immune suppression. The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) investigates the biochemistry of our bodies. They are one of the most important scientific groups in the country, and Elizabeth is working on her certification as a Functional Medicine Practitioner and attended the Functional Medicine Gastrointestinal Module in Austin, Texas for advanced training in February.
How can digestive problems cause chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia pain, mood difficulties and many other conditions? We have an astonishing 100 trillion bacteria in our intestines, or 10 bacteria for every cell in our body. These bacteria "talk" to our immune system. 70% of our immune system is associated with the digestive system, 95% of autoimmune disease is triggered by "leaky gut" or increased intestinal permeability, as the immune system senses toxins leaking into the blood. At IHC we have been working for years with special testing, supplements, and lifestyle changes and sometimes medications to help find and treat these root causes. We have found many people with hidden allergies, lack of stomach acid, parasites, yeast overgrowth, bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine and other problems. Come in and let us help you with digestive problems!! Dr Ira B. Price offers new treatment options for a group of diseases that includes:
¨ Fibromyalgia ¨ Chronic Fatigue syndrome ¨ Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome ¨ Myofascial Pain Syndrome ¨ Tension and migraine headaches ¨ Temporomandibular disorders, ¨ Irritable Bowel Syndrome ¨ Restless Leg Syndrome ¨ EB virus ¨ And primary dysmenorrheal. Current evidence supports the concept that all of these diseases have many common characteristics and that these illnesses are part of a spectrum or continuum of disorders. This group of diseases is often called Dysregulation Spectrum Syndrome or Central Sensitivity Syndrome and is believed to be due to a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system as well as neuroendocrine malfunction that also leads to immune dysfunction. There is a relatively new field of research that looks at all the connections and interrelations between the mind, the neuroendocrine and the immune system. This research area is known as psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). Dr Price, using mind/body approaches based on PNI research has developed treatment strategies using a combination of acupuncture and hypnosis that helps treat the entire group of illnesses mentioned above. More information is available in brochures at our office or by contacting Dr. Price. We use several tests for diagnosis of Lyme disease: 1) the Lyme Western Blot IGG and IGM, 2) a more sensitive Western blot with more bands tested from Igenix Lab, and also 3) the Bowen test, which is still being researched.
We have recently switched from IGenes Laboratory to Stony Brook Lyme Disease Laboratory in Stony Brook, New York. Stony Brook detects IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies and they also have the ability to report CDC non-specific bands if requested. Stony Brook is now billing Medicare and Medicaid.
We now have a contract with Doctor’s Choice, a company that allows us to extend a sizable discount on out of pocket labs. These labs are drawn in our office and sent to Quest Diagnostics via a national account. Payment for these labs must be prepaid and are due in our office the day of draw. Please call our office for more information.
(850) 878-4434 We are happy to announce that we have our own contract with BCBS. We are one of the first nurse practitioner owned offices in the Big Bend area to receive an in-network contract. This in-network contract includes Elizabeth Markovich and Dr. Ira Price. Hypnosis and Acupuncture may be covered as an in-network service for certain conditions with this contract. With our new contractual agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield, there may be a slight change in your copay amount. Please check with the receptionist at your next visit. Many thanks to Dr. John Ness, who has facilitated our payments from BCBS for years. Dr. Ness will continue to serve as our Medical Director and Consulting Physician.
Effective treatment of mind-body conditions requires an approach that integrates techniques that have been shown by research evidence to effectively target problematic patterns of thinking, feeling, and responding to life’s many challenges. One such integrative approach blends techniques drawn from three empirically-supported treatments: cognitive-behavior therapy, clinical hypnosis, and mindfulness training. Cognitive-behavior therapy, which has been shown through numerous well-controlled clinical trials to be an effective treatment for a number of conditions, is based on the notion that our thoughts influence our emotions and our actions. By changing our thought patterns and deeply held beliefs, we can indirectly change our feelings and behavior. For example, if a person thought that they were no good, always destined to fail, they would likely feel depressed, and would probably avoid challenging situations. Conversely, if a person believed that they were capable of managing stressful situations, they would feel encouraged, and would face challenges head on. Cognitive therapy helps people to change their thought patterns and engage in new ways of acting more effectively in the world.
However, sometimes beliefs become deeply engrained through past experiences of adversity, trauma, or by the critical voices of significant others in our lives. For example, numerous instances of failure can lead to the automatic habit of thinking that one is a failure. One might not even realize that he or she holds such negative beliefs about themselves. Long held, automatic beliefs can become like a mental program, repeatedly nagging you with internal voices that say things like “I can’t handle this” “I won’t be successful” “I don’t deserve that” “I’m not good enough for that” “This is going to turn out horrible” or “What is wrong with me?” These doubts and self-limiting beliefs affect our daily lives, yet they often operate automatically, outside of awareness, and that’s what can make them so difficult to change. Fortunately, these deeply engrained beliefs and fears can be addressed by adding clinical hypnosis to cognitive therapy. Research has shown that adding hypnosis to cognitive therapy produces superior outcomes to cognitive therapy alone. Why? Hypnosis can help you to focus your mind in a way so that you can overcome self-imposed restrictions. Hypnosis is a process by which a therapist can help you to concentrate your mind and apply your mental energies to resolving whatever problem or issue you wish to resolve. Hypnosis involves the induction of a state of mind that is focused and absorbed, but at the same time relaxed and open. While you are in this focused yet open state of mind, the therapist presents a number of therapeutic suggestions for changing or resolving your issues. Hypnosis bypasses limiting beliefs and helps you to reprogram negative thought patterns. Hypnosis helps you to become open to new possibilities for healing, changing, and achieving your goals. Hypnosis can also be used for mind-body communication and healing. Hypnosis can influence the body through the autonomic nervous system, a network of nerves connecting the brain to the organs of the body that controls the stress reaction and relaxation response. Brain imaging studies have shown that hypnosis also influences the thalamus, a brain structure that gates pain signals from the body to the parts of the brain that regulate thought and emotion. Through hypnosis one can influence brain structures that regulate beliefs, feelings, and the functions of the body, making it an ideal way to transform the mental, emotional, and physical symptoms of stress- and pain-related conditions. Lastly, mindfulness training involves learning to focus one’s mind on the present moment in an open, accepting, nonjudgmental, and nonreactive manner. Research indicates that by training yourself to pay kind attention to your breathing and body sensations, you can learn to “step back” from negative thoughts and feelings, reducing stress and managing emotional and physical pain. In so doing, you can learn to “get out of your head” so that you can savor the moment and enjoy your life more fully in the present. As a new provider at IHC, I treat a wide array of conditions such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, addiction, and trauma with a strategic integration of cognitive-behavior therapy, clinical hypnosis, and mindfulness training. In five to ten sessions, I will teach you practical strategies and techniques that you can use to help yourself feel better and progress towards your goals. With my integrative approach, I am confident that I can help you to create the solutions you are looking for. Contact Dr. Garland at Integrative Health Care or by email at dr.eric.garland@gmail.com At IHC, I offer counseling, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and clinical hypnosis for individuals, couples, and families. My practice of counseling and psychotherapy is pragmatic and solution-focused. I challenge my clients to grow in addition to giving them the emotional support and tools necessary to do so. I am not a passive therapist who will repeatedly ask you to “tell me how you feel” – instead, I will give you practical, concrete strategies and techniques that you can use to help yourself progress towards your goals. My therapy style is alternately gentle and firm, and designed to generate insight as well as behavioral change. I also work to help others in their quest for personal growth and self-actualization. When appropriate, I engage clients on an existential level, assisting them in clarifying the meaning and mission of their lives. Through a number of techniques, I support deep and powerful positive changes in the behaviors, feelings, and thoughts of my clients. I have successfully assisted clients with diverse issues including: stress; depression; anxiety; drug, cigarette, and alcohol addiction; irritable bowel syndrome; acid reflux; headache; chronic back, neck, and jaw pain; weight loss; sleep difficulties; parent-child and marital conflict; trauma; physical and sexual abuse; and self-esteem issues, among others.
Why do you need clinical hypnosis? I am certified in clinical hypnosis from the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Clinical hypnosis is a powerful tool that can help you to heal and gain self-control by learning to focus your mind in a natural state of deep concentration. Hypnosis involves the induction of a state of mind that is focused and absorbed, but at the same time relaxed and open. In this state of concentrated attention, you can become more open to positive suggestions for growth and healing. Thus, the hypnotic state can enable you to resolve life problems quickly and effectively. Also, hypnosis facilitates personal growth by helping people to overcome learned limitations. Hypnosis allows you to bypass the conscious mind, which often holds us back with worries, doubts, or limiting beliefs. As you learn to enter into the hypnotic state, you can put the interference of these conscious limitations to rest, thereby enabling you to change and live your life the way you want to. Contrary to popular myth, the hypnotist does not put someone in a trance and dominate their will. Instead, during clinical hypnosis, I will present to you ideas and suggestions that will evoke mental imagery and metaphorical associations which will help you to enter into your own self-hypnotic state. All hypnosis is really self-hypnosis. I serve as a guide to help you stimulate your own inner resources for growth and healing. Hypnosis is most effective when you are highly motivated to change or overcome a problem. The change that can occur from clinical hypnosis may happen rapidly or gradually, depending on your issue and your receptivity to the hypnotic state. To learn more about this amazing technique, visit http://asch.net/genpubinfo.htm. I have used hypnosis successfully to treat a wide array of emotional, behavioral, and mind-body issues. Why do I need counseling or psychotherapy? Counseling and psychotherapy, terms used here synonymously, can be enormously effective in helping you to overcome life problems and further your personal growth. At IHC, I use pragmatic techniques to help you bring about the changes you desire in your life. I distinguish myself from many other therapists in that I employ action-oriented therapy techniques designed to help you achieve significant results in a brief time span. Unlike other therapists, I will not ask you to rehash the past over and over again. Instead, I will help you to find solutions to your problems and a new perspective that will ultimately empower you to find meaning and enjoyment in your life. I utilize mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy in my practice. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy has been demonstrated through research to help people find well-being by overcoming negative emotions and unhelpful thought patterns. It incorporates cognitive therapy techniques (one of the most widely supported, evidence-based mental health practice) within the framework of mindfulness. This form of therapy is especially good at helping people overcome self-critical, self-defeating, and pessimistic thoughts and fears. Mindfulness helps you to learn to focus your mind on the present moment in an open, accepting, nonjudgmental, and nonreactive manner. By training yourself to pay attention to your breathing and body sensations, you can learn to “step back” from negative thoughts and feelings, reducing stress and managing emotional and physical pain. In so doing, you can learn to “get out of your head” so that you can enjoy your life more fully in the present. Ultimately, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help you to let go of distressing thoughts, emotions, and sensations, allowing you to accept, appreciate, and enjoy your life more fully. I am also trained in solution-focused therapy, a type of talk therapy that focuses on developing action-oriented strategies to overcome problems and achieve life goals. This form of counseling does not require you to re-hash painful past events. Instead, it focuses on active change in the present that can help you to build the future you desire. Using this therapy, I will ask questions aimed at helping you find your own solutions to the challenges in your life. In so doing, I can help you construct a clear vision of your preferred future, as well as a roadmap that describes the small steps you can take to get there. In our first meeting, we will discuss your goals for treatment. One of my first questions to you will be, "How will you know when you've gotten what you need out of this experience and no longer need therapy?" I am pragmatic in his approach and will seek to be as efficient as possible. Most issues can be resolved in five to ten sessions. I will be up-front and honest with you about your counseling goals and the approximate length of time necessary to achieve them. My goal is for you to get what you need out of our work together and then move on with living the life you want to live. Fees: Initial session and assessment $100 per hour Individual therapy or hypnosis $100 per hour Couples or family therapy $110 per hour A substantial percentage of the cost of these services may be covered by your health insurance if you have out-of-network benefits. Eric Garland, Ph.D., LCSW, is a licensed psychotherapist in Florida and North Carolina, with professional memberships in the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the National Association of Social Workers. He recently completed a fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, where he conducted clinical research on mindfulness-oriented treatments for addiction, irritable bowel syndrome, and other stress- and pain-related conditions. In addition to providing counseling at IHC, Dr. Garland teaches psychotherapy and conducts clinical research at Florida State University on mindfulness-based interventions. Abdominal, or central, obesity is at an all-time high. Abdominal obesity is of particular concern because it is linked to metabolic syndrome, a condition where blood lipids, blood glucose and blood pressure are poorly controlled. Persons with metabolic syndrome are at greatly increased risk for more serious conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, diabetes and stroke. In the U.S., metabolic syndrome is defined as abdominal obesity, (waist circumference greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women), together with two or more of the following risk factors: serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl or above; HDL cholesterol 40mg/dl or lower in men and 50mg/dl or lower in women, blood pressure of 130/85 or more and fasting blood glucose of 110 mg/dl or above. The United States alone has about 30% of the population affected by Metabolic Syndrome.
Even though central obesity is an essential component of metabolic syndrome, that’s not the whole story. Abdominal fat is actually comprised of two metabolically distinct fat compartments. The fat that accumulates under the skin is called subcutaneous fat. Unsightly as it may be, this type of fat is relatively benign. The real perpetrator is dense visceral fat found deep in the abdomen, surrounding the intra-abdominal organs. Visceral fat is of particular concern because elevated levels of visceral fat are actually a cause of metabolic syndrome. Visceral fat cells are not just sedentary storage cells. They release inflammatory cytokines such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and Interleukin (IL)-6, which contribute to chronic systemic inflammation. Visceral fat also produces angiotensin, a chemical messenger that can elevate blood pressure by causing the constriction of blood vessels. Excess visceral fat is a significant factor in the development of metabolic syndrome. Some new herbal supplements have been developed that specifically targets this abdominal fat. One is a licorice derivation VFM-100 or Glabrinex. The other is Insinase by Metagenics, which is in UltraMeal 360. The First Line Therapy Lifestyle program is specifically designed to reverse metabolic syndrome. BIA is used to determine your individual needs. Ask us about working with Elizabeth and Leah on a program specifically for you. See the coupon in our newsletter for your 1st Free Nutritional Consultation. |
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